Pot-filling apparatus for glass-furnaces.



' m. 790.332. PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

' J.T.YTURNER.

POT-FILLING APPARATUS FOR GLASS FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1904- I 4SHEETS-BHEET 1."

' WIT/VESSLS: [/VVE/VTOR. I

ATT R/VEY.

I PATBNTED MAY 23, 1905. v I J. T. TURNER. POT FILLING APPARATUS FOR GLASS FURNACES.

4 SHEETS-HEET 2 JNVENTOR. By M U.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1904. I

110.790.332, 1 PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

- J.T.TURNBR.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W1YYVE55Y5: INVEN YOR.

ATTORNE No. 790,332. A 4 I PATENTED MAY 2,,1905.

' J. T. TURNER.

' POT FILLING APPARATUS FOR GLASS FURNACES.

APPLICATION. FILED MAY 26. 1904. v

4 SHEETSSHEBT 4.

W/NESStfSJ- INVENTOR. M

ATTORNEY.

UNITE STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

PAT NT OFFICE.

POT-FILLING. APPARATUS FOR GLASS-FURNACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 790,332, dated May 23, 1905.

Applioationfiled May 26, 1904:. Serial No. 209,832.

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. TURNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ford City, in the county of Armstrong and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pot-Filling Apparatus for Glass-Furnaces; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to pot-filling apparatus for glass-furnaces.

The manner in which glass-furnace pots have been filled heretofore is about as follows: The

batch of mixture was drawn to the furnace in a hand-cart and shoveled by hand into two heavy ladles, each of whichwas held by one man, and these men would carry their ladles full of the material and project the same through the furnace-door into the furnace and empty the contents into the large pot within.

In this handling of the heavy ladles back and forth through the door or opening in the door of the furnace, with their faces exposed to the intense heat from within, the men un- I and adapted to operate substantially as herein shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of one form of apparatus used by me to mechanically convey the material from the receptacle to the pot within the furnace and showing also a sectional elevation of the furnace and pot. Fig.

2 is an enlarged cross-section of the ladle-carl fixed posts or uprights 58, rails 59, and trav- I00 rying spindle and the support therefor. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the ladle, and Fig. 4 is a cross-section thereof. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, enlarged, of the handling mechanism for the ladle; and Fig. 6 is a detail of one of the forked spring-stops and closing members for the bottom of the ladle, as hereinafter fully described. Fig. 7 shows amodification of the apparatus disclosed in Fig. 1, and Fig. 8 is a plan elevation of still another modification. Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of a modification of the turrets at right angles to Fig. 5 looking in from the right.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the pot for the molten glass, and 2 the furnace, with adoor 3, through which the pot is adapted to be moved in and out as occasion requires and by any suitable appliances, and the said door has ahole 72, through which the ladle is introduced, as will hereinafter fully appear. This hole is designed to be closed by a suitable door or shutter of its own.

My improvement is practically embodied in the device or apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and comprises all the means necessary to handle the mixture or raw material for the furnace by mechanical devices, thus dispensing with the labor of five men and working material economy into the business, as well as protecting men from insufferable heat and peril to their health. The said devices consist, first, in a receptacle or hopper 4 for the mixture or material and a supporting-frame 5 therefor and for other parts, said frame 5 being adapted to be variously supported as may be found convenient. Thus in Fig. 1 the said frame or carrier rests on'track 28 and wheels 29, like a car, so as to be run to and away from the furnace in carryingout the various operations, as for filling receptacle or hopper 4:, or to make room for removing and returning the pot 1 when it is taken out after a heat and the glass is to be poured therefrom on the tables for making the plate-glass. In Fig. 7 the apparatus is shown assuspended from a traveling beam 66 by chain 67 and top crossbar 68 and the beam 66 travels on, rails 70, having supports 71. In Fig. 8 the entire apparatus is shown as suspended and rests on eling wheels on cross-shaft 61. Power to cause the device to travel on its wheels is applied through shaft 61 by gear thereon and pinion 64 in mesh therewith. This or any other suitable power connection can be made. In Fig. 1 power is applied to the shaft or axle carrying wheels 29 from motor 24 through pinion 26 and gear 27 on the axle or shaft carrying wheels 29. Any other means may be used for this purpose also.

Now coming more directly to the mixturehandling parts, 9 represents a ladle by which the mixture or raw material is conveyed into the furnace and discharged into pet I. This ladle has a guard 12, Fig. 3, about its sides and ends and is supported by a rod 10, which is engaged on band 13, fixed around the ladle, and at its other end is secured to the sliding or traveling spindle 15. The said spindle is in turn supported in the upper portion of a so-called upper turret or body 14, of crosss'ectional pattern at its top, adapted to receive the said spindle and provided at its bottom with a flat flanged base horizontally rotatable on the correspondingly-flanged top of the socalled lower turret or turret member 14. The said upper turret has a horizontal rotary movement on the lower turret about central pivot 73 within limits, and a pin 50 serves to fix the said part through holes 51 in the lower turret-flange. A pivot -bolt 52 serves as a medium of support and rotation for the lower turret on bracket or base 36, fixed on floor 25, and a tilting movement is obtained within the limits of slots 53 and pins 54 on this bracket.

This enables the ladle to be so adjusted in position as to-be carried directly in front of opening 72 in the furnace-door. Ballbearing plates 14 are interposed between the turrets 14 and 14 The spindle 15, which carries the ladle, is splined in casing 14, so as to prevent rotation therein and is provided with a rack or series of teeth 46 along its bottom engaged by gear 16, through which it is moved back and forth within limits, whereby the ladle is handled both to receive and discharge its contents, and the operation may be timed for greater or less speed from one position to the other, as may be deemed desirable. Power is communicated to the said ladle-carrying spindle from motor 24 by belt 17, shaft 18, miter-gear 20, meshing with miter-gear 19 on the shaft which carries gear 16, and is in mesh with rack 46 on spindle 15. This or equivalent mechanism for actuating said spindle may be used. The rack 46 is shown as attached to the bottom of spindle 15, and said spindle has a longitudinal groove in its bottom accommodating the rod 11, which controls the sliding bottom of the ladle, as will be seen farther along.

The hopper or receptacle 4 has a spout 6 at its bottom, in which are two cut-offs or sliding stops 7, spaced apart according to the amount of material wanted to fill the ladle and controlled by a pivoted lever 8, and the arrangement of these parts is such that the ladle comes under the spout to receive its load and is carried directly therefrom to the furnace and dumped, as above described. The bottom of the ladle is slidable back and forth in side guides or channels, and hence the said bottom can be withdrawn to drop the load and is antomatically closed again before another load is to be taken. Thus in Fig. l the ladle is in receiving or loading position and in Fig. 5 is on the way to discharging positon, presumably. To the end that the bottom 34 may be opened when the limit of movement into the furnace is reached I may provide one or another mechanism to open the same automatically or by hand; but in this instance I show a cord or cable 45, connected at 44 with the rear end of rod 11 and threaded through loops 49 or their equivalent on body 14. A rod 48 supports a sheave or roller 47 over said cable, and when spindle 15 has traveled forward past this sheave to body 14, or approximately there, as it does to convey the ladle into the furnace, the operator can pull on the free end of said -cable and make the sheave 47a sort of fulcrum for a rearward pull on rod 11 and withdrawal of the bottom 34. This being done and the ladle being unloaded, the prompt withdrawal thereof from the furnace follows by the necessary reversal of the carrying mechanism, and in its retreat the bottom 34 of the ladle contacts with the two forked springpressed steps 39, supported each on its own tube or stud 40 and engaged therein by spiral spring 41. The spindle 42 of the stop 39 is surrounded by said spring, and the said stop and spindle are thus provided with a limited movement under spring-pressure in the support 40, which is threaded into the part 14. It follows that when the ladle is withdrawn for reloading and is carried back till its bottom strikes the said forked stops 39 said bottom will be pushed in to full closing position, and spring 41 provides all needed accommodation against damage by sudden return of the ladle as this occurs.

The foregoing construction besides saving the labor of five men and protecting men from the severity of the furnace afl'ords much more speedy means for filling the pot than when the same was done by hand, the larger carrying capacity of the ladle and the speed with which it is handled being factors in this improvement. Then by the old methods there was also a very considerable expense on account of ladles that were burned out, because such ladles as were then used were of sheetiron with long iron handles to make them light for handling; but in the present case the ladle is made preferably of cast-iron covered upon its exposed bottom with asbestos and is sufficiently heavy to endure this kind of service for a long period of time.

The operator of this machine is stationed,

say, ten feet or more from the furnace-door, and thus'avoids exposure to the heat of the furnace, and he may interpose protection, if desired.

In practical use the spindle of shaft 15, which carries the ladle, is about five inches in cross-section, and it has its bottom planed off flat with a three-inch facingto receive the rack 46.

The motor 24 is connected to gear 27 on the truck-shaft to drive the apparatus along the track to the different furnaces and when in front of a furnaceready to operate the clutch is thrown to disconnect the motor from the said drive-gear 27, thus leaving the latter free to operate the filling apparatus.

The lever 21 operates the miter-pinions and the lever 22 operates the driving-gear 27 on the truck-shaft.

By having the spindle 15 provided with a feather-key connection with casing 14 the ladle is caused to travel evenly and is prevented from rocking or tilting laterally.

By using two machines of the kind described herein both sides of the furnace can be filled at the same time.

A soft collar or bumper 30 is provided on one or both ends of the spindle 15 against a fixed collar 31 to cushion possible contacts with body 14.

The asbestos covering, to the ladle is represented by 33, and in this instance the said covering is fixed to or upon the bottom 34, where the heat is especially severe.

In Fig. 5 I show a sleeve hung upon the bar 10 for protecting the parts within the same from the heat of the furnace. This sleeve or heat-guard may or may not be used.

What I claim is '1. A ladle to deliver loose material into a glass-furnace and a slidable support therefor, a bottom for said ladle adapted to be opened and closed, and separate means to open and close said bottom, substantially as described.

2. A movable supporting-frame and the receptacle therein for the mixed materials having a spout, and means to measure the flow of the material through said spout, a ladle at the bottom of said spout and means to convey the ladle into the furnace and discharging the same therein, substantially as described.

3. In mechanism for filling glass-furnaces,

a movable supporting-frame and a receptacle thereon having a spout in its bottom, a set of cut-ofis in said spout to measure the flow of the material from the said receptacle, a ladle to receive the material and a support for the ladle provided with a rack lengthwise and an actuating-gear engaging said rack to convey the ladle to and from the furnace, substantially as described.

4. In mechanism for supplying material to glass-furnaces, a ladle having a slidable bottom, means to carry the ladle to and from thefurnace, and means to automatically close the said bottom when the ladle is returned to starting position, substantially as described. 5.. In means for feeding material to glassfurnaces, a ladle provided with a rigid support and means to convey the said support lengthwise back and forth, a receptacle having a spout to discharge the material into said ladle, a sliding bottom in the said ladle and means to open and close the said bottom comprising a cable arranged to draw bottom open and spring-pressed stops to close the bottom, substantially as described.

6. In devices for delivering material into glass-furnaces, a ladle having a sliding bottom and a fireproof lining fixed upon said bottom, substantially as described.

7. In appliances for carrying material to glass-furnaces, a ladle and a rigid support therefor provided with a rack along its bottom, a sleeve-bearing for said support and power mechanism engaged with said rack to move the ladle back and forth. and means to tilt said parts, substantially as described.

8. In means for delivering material to glassfurnaces, a suitable movable frame and a receptacle for the material therein, in combination with a ladle and a spindle supporting the same, means to move said spindle back and forth between its filling and its unloading positions, and supporting mechanism for the spindle having limited rotary and tilting movements, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES T. TURNER.

Witnesses:

H. T. FISHER, O. A. SELL. 

